1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to shaping a spherical body consisting of a dough crust and a filling, and more particularly, to shaping the spherical body by constricting a continuously fed cylindrical body consisting of a dough crust and a filling, without exposing or spilling the filling.
2. Prior Art
Japanese Utility Model Early-Publication No. 85178/85 discloses a cutter comprising a plurality of squeezing pieces in a guide, means to slide the squeezing pieces, whereby bar foodstuffs are cut. This utility model provides a cutter wherein the bar-shaped foodstuffs, consisting of a single component, are cut by the squeezing pieces. Each of the squeezing pieces is thin and has at its inner end a sharp edge to smoothly cut the foodstuffs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,201 discloses an extrusion apparatus wherein an iris valve closes and opens its polygonal aperture to cut an extruded article consisting of a filling and a coating material. The iris valve is composed of a plurality of circumferential disposed leaf members, which open and close the aperture by force applied in radial directions. The leaf members overlap each other to make the aperture, so that the thickness of each leaf member is necessarily limited, and the aperture cannot be completely closed. Further, as the aperture is necessarily defined by the sharp edges formed at the inner ends of the thin leaf members, the article is liable to be penetrated by the leaf members as it is cut by a sharp blade, whereby the filling is readily exposed. Also, the article tends to clog between the leaf members.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 900,074 filed on Aug. 9, 1986, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,024 discloses an apparatus and method for shaping a spherical body consisting of dough crust and a filling. In this apparatus, a cylindrical body is continuously fed to and through an opening of a shaping assembly comprising at least three slidable members. The members are assembled in a sliding relationship with reference to one another and moved inwardly and outwardly to close and open the opening, whereby the spherical body is shaped. As shown in FIG. 19, two inwardly disposed slidable surfaces (103, 105) of each sliding member (101) form an edge (110) therebetween and adjacent to the edge there is a tapered portion (102) tapering off in the direction of the edge. Due to this structure, the continuously fed cylindrical body can be cut without exposing the filling, with the dough crust being brought to the area where the cylindrical body is cut. In this apparatus, the tapered portions (102) of the members (101) have slopes (107) of a constant negative gradient. Accordingly, if the dough crust consists of a relatively adhesive material, such members provide areas of contact with the cylindrical body relatively wider than necessary, resulting in the likelihood of the dough adhering to the members. Additionally, such a wide area of contact tends to bring an excessive amount of the dough crust to the point where the dough is cut, resulting in a spherical body with a dough crust of an uneven thickness or with part of the dough crust protruding from the remaining body.
Therefore, when a spherical body consisting of the crust and the filling is prepared by cutting a continuously fed material, an apparatus and method has been required in which an opening completely closes, no filling or crust is liable to adhere to the cutter or between members constituting the cutter, and the filling is encrusted with a crust of a uniform thickness.